Shawinigan
by anzoonza
Summary: Oliver, Felicity and Diggle meet Dean, Sam and Castiel in a remote forest town.
1. Chapter 1

Story: **Shawinigan**

_Synopsis:_ Oliver, Felicity and Diggle meet Sam, Dean and Castiel in a remote forest town plagued by a bad guy whose slowly killing off townsfolk with arrows.

_Author's Note:_ This is stand-alone and not connected to any season of either Arrow or Supernatural. Which means people may be alive in this that are not on the shows anymore... for I have become the Lazarus Pit.

_More Important Author's Note:_ The town in this story is not, I repeat not, Shawinigan, QC. I have never been there nor have any desire to disrespect the good people of it. I just really really liked the name. I tried not to use it. I tried to come up with something better. Shawinigan it had to be.

* * *

"Harris Walters was found dead in an adirondack chair on the shores of Lake Blanchett this morning, three arrows sticking out from his chest. This is the second death in the small town of Shawinigan this month, with both victims being affiliated with Shawinigan Walter &amp; Power. Harris Walters was husband to Alabaster Shawinigan, the oldest living heir to the dynasty, and current CEO of the corporation." Sam's eyes left the article to study the photo. It was of three police officers looking at the victim who sat, slumped over. The tips of the arrows were visible and Harris's left, bare foot, right arm and a half-full bourbon glass still sitting on the arm of the chair. Sam looked at Dean, "who shoots a guy with arrows from the water?"

"Hicks. Or disgruntled spirits of the forest who last appeared in oh, 1807."

Sam looked back down at the paper only to shift as the Chevy Impala lurched it's way from third to fourth gear. "You know this town is in the mountains..."

"I expect nothing less than the sidewinder."

"You're going to get it. It's called the Lake Blanchett Parkway. Eight miles of twisting, turning, narrow roads. You really think-?"

"If Nicholson can do it, I can do it. That's a life motto."

Sam nodded, "he wasn't in this..."

"You think they have 'The Shining' soundtrack on tape? I feel like you can't really do the drive without the creepy music. You know what, never mind, I got it. Zeppelin IV. Battle of Evermore. Yeah.. Creepy secluded mountain town, long drive, watery arrow guy. Life is good. Let's do this."

* * *

"Oliver, Digg take a look at this-"

Oliver and Diggle walked over from the training post to the screen Felicity was watching. "This second murder has left the Shawinigan Police Force worried that there may be a serial killer in this tiny town."

A police officer appeared on the screen, "yes, the two homicides have similarities but we are not prepared to state anything more than that."

The announcer came back on, "services for Harris Walters will be held Thursday at the Shaw-" Felicity turned off the screen. "That's death number two."

"Laurel said nobody there is even remotely suggesting it could be the Arrow," Oliver said.

"But they might, after another one. There's also the fact that there's a not-copy-cat-archer terrorizing a small town."

"You think we should go up there?" Diggle said.

"I think guys .. and girls .. with arrows are sort of our thing... and Shawinigan is still in the county, technically. Well not technically, or at all, but definitely the same state..."

Diggle looked at Oliver, "she has a point."

"We have enough to worry about here..."

"Lyla said she wanted to get out of town," Diggle said, ignoring Oliver.

Felicity smiled, "I bet they have a really cute bed and breakfast... I'll check."

Oliver looked down at Felicity, "Felicity, we should-"

"Sorry, you're outvoted. We're taking a road trip. Breathing fresh air. Seeing trees. Taking down evil guy. Besides, thanks to Myer 'I embezzle from hospital pensions and drug dealers' Warren, we have some extra funds. Perfect for a weekend away to help out our neighbors to the north and maintaining the good reputation of all bow and arrow-wielding people everywhere."

Oliver looked down at her and with a slight twitch of a smile at his lips, he nodded. They were going. Felicity beamed back at him and then looked at Diggle who gave her a wink.


	2. Chapter 2

"You forget how tree-y everything gets when you leave the city," Felicity said, looking out the window. "It's creepy not seeing people."

"Felicity, the town-"

"Right," Felicity said, returning to her tablet to read from it. "Shawinigan was conceived and constructed by the Shawinigan Water &amp; Power Company to function as a fully-equipped, self-contained living community for workers at the nearby dam on Lake Blanchett. Founded over seventy-five years ago, this town once provided power for most of Starling County and the city of Starling City itself. However as Starling City grew, and as Capital City grew, power sources were changed and now Shawinigan Water &amp; Power only provides services to the northern part of the state."

"So the city is in decline?"

"Oh boy, yeah. Not to mention the patriarch, Alphonse Shawinigan, died two years ago and from what I gather he was kind of the brains of the operation."

".. and this Alabaster Walters?"

"Yeah, Alabaster has control but apparently that's in dispute. Her brother Alec, A names are big in this family, wants the company for himself and is fighting her. Dealbook says it's to sell to a Dutch conglomerate. Which would be really bad-"

"Because the town needs the company to survive."

"Yes indeedy..."

"So why murder Alabaster's husband Harris?"

"First, why can't the rich have normal names? You're lucky you got Oliver. Second, Harris came from his own money, which he pretty much lost all of traveling and gambling prior to marrying Alabaster. Whose money he was making a pretty solid dent in. More rumor, now from Town &amp; Country, is that if he kept on the track he was going, Alabaster would have had to sell the company..."

"And the first one dead? Wick-"

"Wick Walters. Which, from the name was, you guessed it, rich. He was the chief of operations who apparently thought a great way for the company to make money was to turn the surrounding forests into a giant lumber mill. Not a popular idea with the locals."

"So everyone whose dead was some form of threat to the company-"

"But that's the thing, everyone in the town is connected to the company." Felicity watched as a sign for the parkway passed. "That's our turn, up there, Exit 3A. They close this road down for the snow you know. We could get stuck there. Diggle and Lyla may not even be able to make it up."

"There's no snow in the forecast..."

"Just saying." Felicity turned her head and smiled, "did you ever see The Shining?"

"Yes, that one I have seen."

"It's like that road. You want me to hum the music? You know, set the stage for our little woodsy mystery..."

Oliver smiled, "I'm good. But if you see any twin girls…"

"Great, now I'm going to be looking for scary twin girls in the trees..." Felicity said, turning her head. "Why do people live out here?"

* * *

"Alright so this Wick guy is walking across the damn at night, doing his usual rounds, he checks in at 9:47 p.m. and says everything is fine," Sam says, thumbing through the papers. "Third shift guy finds him at 2:37 a.m., dead, three arrows in his chest."

"So we got one guy whose killed having a drink in his adirondack chair and one guy doing his regular walk? Both of them high-up in the company."

"Harris wasn't but it's clear Alabaster had enough love for him to throw away her family's company in order to fund their lifestyle."

"Gotta love a loyal sugar mamma," Dean said. "That's the oldest sister, then there's the middle one, Alec. He's a peach. And the youngest? The one you know."

"Arabella, yeah, Bell."

"Kind of dim, right?"

"No, that's her boyfriend, Jack. Bell is smart but... you know, distracted. She stopped going to classes but was always around. She liked to paint. I remember that. She moved back home after the first year."

"What's her stance on this? She want the company?"

"I doubt it. She's more.."

"Distracted, right."

"Yeah but a good person..."

"Hey we need an in, she's our in," Dean said. "Besides it seems like the further you are away from the company, the safer you are. Tell me about the arrows again."

"Old school, actually. Carved arrowheads, actual crow feathers, well crafted."

"So our bad guy likes vintage-"

"Vintage, vintage. We're talking hand-made string."

"Before 1807 vintage?"

"Yeah but it's not like arrows have changed much over the years," Sam says. "I mean, they have.."

"If this is going to turn into another round of fan-girling the Arrow-"

"It's not him, I'm almost positive."

"Because you've spent hours and hours on the internet examining pictures? Or because you just can't believe he would hurt anybody..."

Sam shifts uncomfortably, "because he uses... a more modern..."

"You know, we're not that far from Starling if you want to explore those stalker fantasies, we can swing by-"

"You know this guy basically does what we do."

"Are you calling me your hero? This is a guy who dresses up like Robin Hood and fights criminals, who carry guns, with a weapon that was made obsolete a hundred years ago. Also he wears leather pants. He ain't us and thankfully, we ain't him. But you know what, you keep on tumblr'ing, Samantha."

"He-"

"Leather pants."


	3. Chapter 3

When Felicity entered the Snoqualmie Inn she smiled. It was exactly what one would imagine when you thought about getting away for the weekend and thankfully nothing like the hotel in The Shining. Roaring fire, check. Chairs covered in dark green, check. Wood panelling, check. Pictures of ducks and other woodland creatures, check. A vague smell of cider over wood smoke, check. Despite them being here for very murderous reasons, the town and inn had definite woodsy appeal.

"We have a reservation under Smoak, Felicity," Oliver said to the clerk, an elderly woman in a wool sweater with different color pine trees. Check.

"How was the drive in?"

"Fine," Oliver said. "You're not expecting snow, right?"

He bumped Felicity playfully.

"Well you never know," the woman said, turning away.

Felicity gave Oliver a 'see?' look but he just rolled his eyes. There was a sound behind them and she turned to see two startlingly attractive men enter. One was tall with wide shoulders and hair that looked even glossier than hers and features found mostly in Vampire novels - innocent eyes, wide lips. The second she could only see in profile for a moment, though even then, he was attractive. When he turned and met her eyes, his grin spread wide and definitely roguish, she swallowed. Hot. Felicity turned back. She knew danger when she saw it, and he had danger written all over him - or player, or douchebag. Whatever it was, she wanted no part of it. They were here on business. There was an Oliver in the room. She had danger enough in her life.

"Here you go, 2 rooms, right? It's so nice to see couples respecting the old ways.."

"We're not a couple," Oliver said.

"Awesome," a voice said behind them.

They both turned to see the roguish one was now standing behind them, the same smile on his face. He looked at her appraisingly, "hey."

There was some form of noise from Oliver and both Felicity and the man looked over to him. Oliver was in full Arrow mode. Felicity waited for the man to pick up on it, but instead his smile became even wider. "You guys checked in?" He said innocently and enthusiastically. "I'm just dying to get in and try this famous Snoqualmie Inn cider."

"Oh you've come just at the right time, we've had an especially good harvest," the woman behind the counter said. "And you'll love our cider donuts."

"Cider donuts," the man said, "I can't imagine anything sweeter."

Oliver grabbed everything from the counter and slung his bag back on his shoulder, turning towards her and pushing them out of the way. The man smiled widely at Felicity and then turned back to the woman.

"Dean Winchester, checking in," he said casually.

Felicity was thinking about the name when Oliver tensed beside her. She followed his gaze to where the second man was. He was standing at the table where the local newspaper was fanned out. The man was reading the article on the front page with a document next to it. Felicity looked down, the article was about the second murder. The page he was comparing it too was the computer print-out of an article about the first murder, the same article she had read to Oliver in the car. Oliver whispered in her ear, "you got his name, right?"

"Dean Winchester," Felicity said softly back.

"Let's look them up."

Before she could think about why two people as handsome as Oliver would be looking into the same thing they were the door opened and a man in a suit and trench coat entered. She stopped when she saw him. He stopped when he saw her. For a moment they just regarded each other. She took in the suit that looked like he had been wearing for far too long and the kind face. He gave her a little smile and she returned it.

"Felicity," Oliver said, pulling at her.

"Hmm?" Felicity said dazedly.

"Elevator's are this way," she felt a tug at her arm.

She turned towards Oliver, "he seems nice."

"Who?"

Felicity blinked and realized she wasn't sure who she meant. Oliver just gave her a look and kept his hand on her arm, guiding her into the elevators.

* * *

"All checked in," Dean said. "You see the blonde?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "The guy looked really familiar..."

"She's single."

"How did you find that out?"

"He said they weren't a couple," Dean smiled widely. "I like Shawinigan. I like Shawinigan a lot."

"Apart from the series of brutal murders..." Sam said and then looked back to Castiel. "Hey Cas."

"She's a good person," Castiel said. "Felicity Smoak."

"Who - what?" Dean said.

"That's her name. The blonde. I heard the guy say it," Sam said. "But how did - she's a good person?"

Castiel nodded, "Shawinigan is a place of spirits. We must be careful."

"Felicity is good. Shawinigan is bad. You're kind of full Cas right now," Dean said.

"She is good. And Shawinigan is a place of spirits," Castiel said, "I have to go to the water."

Castiel turned and walked out of the Inn. Dean looked at Sam.

"Should we follow him?" Sam said.

"Nah, he's a big boy. Let's get set-up." Dean picked up his bags and went with Sam to the elevators. "So when he says good, do you think he means... good in all things?"

"You're just skipping past his whole thing about this being a place of spirits?"

"I was getting to that," Dean said. "But do you think good could-?"


	4. Chapter 4

Felicity sighed, clutched her laptop to her and pressed L for the lobby. Of course there was only one hotel in town. Of course the website had promised wifi. Of course it barely worked. She felt powerless and thoroughly unprepared. If this was country life, it was not for her.

Two floors down the elevator dinged and the tall man from the lobby entered, a laptop in his hands, and a pained expression on his face. The doors shut and she glanced at him sideways.

"There's a cafe," he said. "It works in there."

"Oh, thanks," she said.

When the elevator opened she wondered briefly if they would walk together, though it seemed absurd because she didn't even know he was. Instead she let him lead and awkwardly they entered the cafe, empty due to the late hour. A rather pretty woman smiled at them, "you two take any table you want. Kitchen's closed but there's coffee, cobbler, and donuts."

"Oh, we're not-" The man offered and then let the words fall out as the woman disappeared behind a screen. She watched him walk to a corner booth and then took a table nearby. He immediately set to work, spreading out papers and his laptop. Felicity did the same. Shortly after the waitress came by, filled the coffee cup, and gave her a piece of apple cobbler, "house specialty," she said before she did the same for the man. Felicity pushed the cobbler away and took a sip of her coffee, watching as the little fan of half-circles blinked grey and then black. A full signal.

"Yes," she said, actively not doing a fist pump, and brought up her browser. The Google homepage popped up in bright, beautiful color. Felicity went to the search bar and typed: Dean Winchester, sneaking another glance at the man who was now studying the apple cobbler, his face appearing almost ghoulish in the laptop light.

* * *

Sam wasn't sure what he expected when he typed in the words "Felicity Smoak" in the search bar. He had seen Castiel identify with certain people but most of them turned out to be vessels. He didn't expect her to be a vessel, however he didn't expect what he found either: The girl was a genius.

The first article was about her coming in second in the National Information Technology competition. At 19. Sam leaned back and glanced again at Felicity, whose face was now mostly obscured by the shell of her laptop. "Felicity Smoak is a student at MIT where she specializes in computer security."

The second article was an article about innovations in cyber security ideas coming from MIT graduate students. Felicity was quoted several times and mentioned for her ideas on software integration. Sam put the dates together and realized Felicity had gone to school early, really early. He wondered if Ash knew her. He'd have to ask.

The third was an article from TMZ. "CEO Oliver Queen announces Cash for Guns initiative." Sam clicked on the picture and there was Oliver Queen smiling. Behind him, cut out of half the frame was Felicity. He looked to the bottom of the picture. "Also pictured: Oliver Queen's executive assistant Felicity Smoak." That's how he knows him. It's Oliver Queen.

Sam clicked out of the article, ready to move on to more important matters at hand. The mystery was solved: Felicity is Oliver's over-qualified assistant and they're here for some business. He goes to click out of the screen but accidentally drags the window instead. There, ninth down, is the line "Starling Citizen Saved by Hood." Sam clicked open the article, it's a small article, no bigger than a paragraph.

"Felicity Smoak was rescued by Starling City's hooded vigilante last night. Ms. Smoak was working late in the Queen Consolidated offices when she was attacked by an armed drug dealer. It is unknown why the dealer had targeted QC and Ms. Smoak. However it appears that the Hood had been following the dealer as he was able to rescue Ms. Smoak."

Sam clicked back to the search bar, looking for more articles. He searches again, this time with the words 'drug dealer' but nothing comes up. There's only the one and when he looks at the publication, it's a small newspaper. He's used to what should be big news being made a blip on the internet, he's just not used to it not involving him or Dean. Sam looks back at Felicity only to see Oliver enter and slide into the booth across from her. She moves her laptop away and leans in, speaking to him softly. Oliver reaches out and takes the piece of apple cobbler that's sat untouched on her table, eating a spoonful as he nods at her. There was that thing on that Reddit board: the Oliver Queen theory. Sam had disregarded it because the police had already released him. There's also the very popular theory that the Arrow had partners, more than just the one in red, someone behind the scenes who knew enough about technology to make sure certain things like him appearing on security cameras never happened. Now, as he watched what did not like an executive assistant talking to her boss but rather two people who knew each well enough to just be openly staring at each other, in a town where rich hydro executives were dying by arrows, he felt his heart pump excitedly. It's the Arrow. This isn't a ghost. It's the Arrow.

* * *

"We have a problem," Felicity said in lieu of a greeting as Oliver slides into the booth across from her. "Yes, you can eat the cobbler."

"What's the problem?" Oliver asked, digging into the cobbler.

"Those guys, the really really good-looking ones, they're some sort of ghost-demon-hunting group. And they're good at what they do. Like really good."

"They're ghostbusters?"

Felicity smiles, "two movie references in one day! My heart is actually swelling... not important. I don't know. It's weird, like super weird. I mean, I thought some of the ones we went up against were weird but this... this is a whole new level of weird."

"Slow down, tell me what you read."

"Okay, it's tough. It's not like the New York Times is covering it but there's postings. I even found this website called Ghostfacers!"

"Ghostfacers," Oliver says.

"I know and it... it lives up to the skepticism in your voice. But on the website, they talk about this house. The Morton House and how these guys knew about these kids disappearing there and how they went in and stopped it..."

"Felicity..."

"Oliver, I hacked the local police department. It all checks out. The Morton House had numerous disappearances, including the night Sam and Dean Winchester were there. Someone died, Alan Corbett. But that's it. After they were there, nothing. I haven't checked out all the other stories but..."

"Felicity, there are no such thing as ghosts."

"No, I know, but what if..."

"They're hacks. Scam artists."

"And if they're not?"

"You think the arrow guy is a ghost?"

Felicity frowned, "... not exactly?"

"Look, whoever they are, as long as we stay away from them, I think we'll be fine," Oliver said. "Did you pull the stuff for the family?"

"Yes. Oh and Diggle emailed, he'll be up tomorrow afternoon. No Lyla though."

"Ok, come on, we have a meeting with the family tomorrow at 9. We should rest," Oliver said.

Felicity nodded and then looked over to where the man she know knew as Sam was sitting. He looked up from his computer, directly at her. She tried to imagined him with a power pack or a ouija board or something but couldn't see it. But when she tried to picture him as a hack or scam artist, she thought back to the article about the college student who found his fiancee dead, and how her first impression of him had been how innocent his eyes were. Felicity closed her laptop and looked back to Oliver. Just because she had to stay away from them didn't mean she couldn't figure out who they really were.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks to sweetchick621, MaddyR, I'd-Rather-Be-A-Winchester for writing reviews, and for everyone else whose favoriting this and following along. You all rock.

* * *

The steep rocks slowly begin to give way to full pine trees, dark earth, and then a smattering of small houses. Diggle watches it change as the road levels and then in a wink of light, he sees the expanse of Lake Blanchett appear on his left. It's a perfect blue, one that reminds him of the first time he had seen the Indian Ocean from a plane and thought it was so deep, so inexplicable it could be nothing less than the other side of his world. Diggle's lost to it for a moment and then he sees the dark green sign with white lettering. "_Welcome to Our Home. Shawinigan: Established 1894_."

There's been more than a few times, moreso lately, where he's thought of leaving it all. Of taking Lyla and finding a quiet place to live. Like here. His mind drifts to thoughts of lake houses, of seeing Lyla in the snow, and how perfectly the lake is glittering in the morning sun.

It lingers until he sees the man in the trench coat standing on a turn-off not far ahead. The man has his back to him and stands perfectly still, his gaze on the water. Diggle looks around for a car, a hiking back-pack, something that could explain his presence but there's nothing. Diggle glances around but the houses he's passed are at least a mile away and there's nothing but lake and forest where he is now. He can't help it. He has to know if the guy is okay, this place is too remote to just be somewhere. He pulls over and pops out. "Hey, you alright? What are you doing?"

The man turns and when he sees Diggle, the corners of his mouth tick up and his eyes soften. It's almost as if he's happy to see Diggle. "I'm standing here quietly."

"Right, look, you uh, okay? I didn't see a -"

"You can forget the feeling of purity. It can be so … crowded."

"So you're -" Diggle contemplates him for a moment, he has seen hippies before, just never ones in suits. "Right."

"Do you feel … the breath of it?" The man's grin becomes a shy smile. "It is breath."

Diggle scratches his head, oh man. "You know - I'm supposed to meet some friends and I should…"

"Yes, you should," the man turns back. "It is good here. Not best though. That's… over there."

Diggle follows his gaze, but the lake is so massive it's hard to know where exactly the man means. He knows the guy is crazy. I mean, the breath, purity. It's just, the guy doesn't seem crazy.

Diggle looks around again and to his surprise, when he takes a breath in, the air is sweet with smell of pine, crisp in late fall, and something behind it all that he could actually consider pure. "You get home safe Buddy…"

The man looks back at him, the smile still there. "I'm not Buddy."

"No, I know…" Diggle shakes his head and gets back in the car. Ok, maybe the guy is crazy. He turns back onto the road but as he drives, his eyes flick to the rearview mirror wondering if the man will appear on the road.

* * *

"Wait, so you're saying Oliver Queen is the Arrow?" Dean says as they walk up Main Street, quiet save for only a few people who move in and out of the buildings on each side.

"No. Yes. I did but then when I went over the evidence here, I…"

"But you think Oliver Queen is the Arrow?"

"Maybe-" Sam sighs, frustrated. It makes sense and it doesn't. It works on some levels but not all. His evidence just does not add up: he thought the Arrow wasn't killing anymore, he thought the Arrow was only in Starling.

"Makes sense."

"Really?" Sam says.

"Billionaire gets shipwrecked on an island. There's no Wilson to keep him company so he becomes a full-on island-dwelling badass…. and since he's crazy now, why not take that out on a few bad guys?"

"You think that's what this is, then?" Sam says.

"Arrow slingin' evil Hydo Executives? Sure, you said he went after rich guys. Not many rich guys left in Starling thanks to years of crazy guy terrorism… not to mention the wackadoos in Central City… maybe he had to diversify. These corporate guys, they love that, right? Diversifying."

"That…" Sam pauses. "That doesn't sound right."

Dean shrugs.

They're quiet for a moment when Dean says suddenly, "think it has a hedge maze?"

Sam looks up from his notebook and realizes that they're at the beginning of the private drive leading up to the Shawinigan Estate, which sits on top of a large hill so that he can make it's structure out over the trees. It's an old house, obvious because of it's large box-like structure, black windows and cast-iron railings. The ornate features and the stark coloring make it look almost oppressive and Sam feels himself grimace at how cold it appears.

"You know what, I take it back," Dean says. "This place has bad guy ghost written all over it."

* * *

"Of course we will sell," Alec says, looking at his sister across the expanse of the red silk couch in the ornate living room that seems to have a English hunting theme because of the five or six paintings of hounds, foxes and men with rifles. Not to mention the two large white porcelain hounds by the fireplace that Felicity keeps giving a wary glance too, something he watches with amusement and to stave off the boredom that is watching siblings bicker.

"We will not sell," Alabaster says. She's an imposing woman, tall and thick, with immaculate features and grooming. Not attractive per se but strong. That's what she looks like: strong.

"Queen Consolidated is willing to partner-" Oliver attempts to interject.

Alec looks at Oliver, "we do not want a partnership. We want out."

"You want out," Alabaster says.

"I want not to be stuck up in this godforsaken hell hole the minute the snow falls…" Alec clinks the ice cubes in his glass. His features are athletic but Oliver thinks he would go down very quickly in a fight and has yet to be able to take anything he says seriously.

"The snow is beautiful," Arabella says in sing-song. It's the third thing she's said and as with before, each time, it stops the argument as both Alabaster and Alec turn to look at her.

She's an interesting person to look at, he thinks. Her face is soft, wide brown eyes, pale skin, pretty. Yet the more he watches her, the more she takes on the neat and doll-like features in old portraits. She turns away and he looks past to her to the lake view she keeps her eyes on. The glass must be old, it's warp makes the lake uneven and blurs the blue. It's something he remembers from being a kid in the manor, before his mother had all the windows upgraded because of the drafts. Cold, he thinks, like this house.

"Oliver.."

Oliver turns to Alec, "Alec."

"We'd need legal to be involved.." Alec repeats. "I don't believe in gentlemen's agreements."

"It is not yours to agree upon-" Alabaster interrupts. "And it wouldn't be a _gentleman's_ agreement…"

"It is mine, 37%." Alec speaks over Alabaster.

"I have the controlling 44%"

"Arabella will side-"

"Arabella can make-"

"She wants to sell-"

Alec and Alabaster continue to argue over each other to where their actual words become more and more indistinct. Felicity looks over at Oliver, who looks at her. This is not getting them anywhere. Except he's supposed to be the guy who wants to buy the company which means he has to play polite… at least for a few more minutes. They need to work on their covers. "What about the soft impact?" He finally says, desperate. "You said this Wick-"

"Don't even get me started," Alec says.

"It's in the charter," Alabaster says.

"Like the charter can't be changed-" Alec interrupts.

"We have always promised we would not hurt the land-" Alabaster speaks over Alec.

"We're not hurting the land-"

"We're using up a natural resource-"

"It's water!"

Again Alabaster and Alec tear into each other while the room sits patiently by.

"Is it wrong for me to hate Alec?" Felicity breathes, leaning in, her eyes pinging back and forth to Alec and Alabaster as each volleys another line. "Because I do."

Oliver smiles at her. Before he can respond, the maid appears. "Mrs. Harris, Mr. Shawinigan, Ms. Shawinigan, a Mr. Samuel and Mr. Dean Winchester are here."

Felicity pinches his thigh, unnecessarily he thinks, as Sam and Dean enter. He doesn't really understand her fascination with the two apart from some passing interest in their looks. Which should be irrelevant as her focus should be on what they came here to do. Still they're a welcome sight from this nonsense. He leans back, waiting to see what this can possibly be about.

"Who are you?" Alec says.

"Sam!" Arabella says and goes over to him.

"Bell!"

Felicity lightly kicks his leg. He gives her a look.

"Thank you for coming!"

"Arabella, who are they?"

"This is Sam Winchester. We were in school together. You know, for my year."

"Wonderful. Why are they here?" Alec says dryly, going to the bar to pour himself another heaping amount of what smells like bourbon. Oliver glances down at his watch, estimating the guys had about three drinks since 9:00am.

Arabella turns and looks at Sam, her wide eyes sparkling ."To help."

Felicity shifts, nudging him, and Oliver wants to roll his eyes. Yes, he gets it.

Alec lets out a groan of obvious frustration. Alabaster just shakes her head, goes to where Alec is putting ice cubes in his drink and holds out her own glass. Alec drops what he is doing and pours her bourbon. Interesting, Oliver thinks. Despite their argument, they're in sync when it comes to Arabella and bourbon.

"Arabella, perhaps you can take them - elsewhere?" Alec says into his glass.

Arabella just turns and walks out. Sam gives Dean a look and follows her. Dean lingers, turning to where they sit. His eyebrows pop-up when he sees Felicity, "hey" he says. He gives a nod to the rest of the room and then walks out. Oliver rolls his eyes.

* * *

"Ok, so that was several hours of our life we'll never get back-" Felicity says as they exit the house. "Lunch?"

"Yeah," Oliver says.

"So the Winchesters are school friends with Arabella?"

"Apparently," Oliver grumbles and then turns back to look at the house. "Alec is the only one who wants to sell, right?"

"Most likely to fund a laser with which he can threaten James Bond-"

"What?"

"You know, evil guy," Felicity sighs, "I would have taken you for a James Bond fan."

Oliver blinks, he vaguely remembers something about Sean Connery…

"Nevermind. I'm just saying, if that man had a mustache, he would be twirling that mustache," Felicity says and then holds up her phone. "Also there was no wifi signal in that house, so obviously, something's wrong."

"Alabaster doesn't want to sell."

"No."

"But you said she might have sold because her husband, Harris-"

"Had a major gambling problem, right…"

"And that Wick wanted to turn the place into a lumber mill?"

"Yes," Felicity moves her phone around. "I have been getting nothing but one bar since we left the hotel. Do you know what this means?"

"No."

"It means we are cut-off. What happens if we're in an emergency? Wait, are there bears around? I don't know how to survive a bear attack. What if I can't Google how to survive a bear attack?" Felicity stills at his lack of response. "Sorry. You were saying something…."

"It's just Harris, Wick, Alec - all seem to care more about making money than the land…"

"Granted I haven't done a full profile of them, because _something_ is not being helpful-"

"Felicity-"

"But yes, they're the uber corporate profits-over-everything guys…" Felicity finally drops her phone to her side. "Oh, you think the bad guy would target Alec next, don't you?"

Oliver shrugs, "that's what I would do…"

"If you were a bad guy, which you're not," Felicity smiles at him. "But probably worth some nighttime fun…"

Oliver looks back at her.

"Don't. Do you know what this place is? It's like… it's like I'm Clark Kent. Without wifi."

* * *

"So we're actually stalking Oliver Queen?" Dean says. "We're actually stalking Oliver Queen."

"Felicity-" Sam begins.

"Hot for teacher-" Dean corrects.

"Felicity was in the cafe. He came and got her. An hour later, I see two individuals, one with a very distinctive ponytail move around the back. In the dark. Something's up."

Dean nods, "or they were invited back to the house…"

He squints up the long, dark road, trying to catch a glimpse of either one. Far beyond, high up the hill, the Shawinigan Estate, windows lit-up, looms. "It's actually uglier in the dark," Dean says.

Sam nods, "makes you feel kind of sorry for Bell…"

Dean thinks back to Bell. She is everything Sam says - distracted, smart, but mostly distracted. If he hears "natural beauty" again, he's leaving them to whatever bad guy there is. He is not a hand-holding, tree-hugging kind of guy. Which makes him wonder where Cas is.

There's a light crunch of gravel and when they both turn, they see what can only be described as a mountain before them.

"What are you doing here?" The man says.

"You security?" Dean tries to make out more of the guy but nope, just mountain.

"Do you belong here?"

"Yeah, friend of the family…"

"Whose casing the place, in the dark?" The mountain says, suspicion clear.

"Just you know, headed up…" Dean rolls back on his feet as he realizes they're all standing in the dark. "What kind of security doesn't carry a flashlight?"

Dean's willing to admit, the mountain had the gun on him first, but that doesn't mean he doesn't get his out. So now it's a stand-off.

"Digg, it's fine-"

Both sides look over to find the blonde, hot for - Felicity, standing in the trees. She comes out, holding a tablet and a radio.

"You know these guys?" Mountain says.

"No, but…" Felicity looks at Sam and Dean. "They're not what we're looking for."

"Excuse me?" Dean says.

"You're a paranormal group, right?"

Oh sh- he looks at Sam.

"No," Sam says, his voice taking on that faux-official thing he adopts when they play cops.

"Oh, so you actually prefer the term 'demon hunters'?"

Oh shit. "We don't pref-"

His voice is cut-off at the sound of a high pitched scream and then a loud crash. Each one of their flashlights flicks on as they move through the woods, up to the lawn before the house and then around to where a pool of floodlight is. As they reach it, they see the body of a man face down the ground, his leg bent at an impossible angle.

"What the-" Dean says.

There is a light sound of movement in the trees and then a man, in a hood, standing in darkness in the trees just past the lawn. Dean focuses but there's a noise above and his gazes goes up to see Alabaster on a second story balcony, her voice a mask of horror. Dean goes back to the man who is just standing there.

"Turn him over," the man says.

The mountain goes over and dutifully flips the man over to reveal three bent and broken arrows from the center of his chest.

"Ok, that's about enough-" Dean says, moving his gun.

"It wasn't me," the man in the woods says impatiently.

"It's you," Sam says, not accusingly but rather, Dean rolls his eyes - in awe. "It's-"

"Say his name and I will erase you both from existence," Felicity whispers.

Dean gives her a look and to his surprise, her fingers are on the tablet. "See any other guys with-"

"It's not him…" Felicity says, her tone firm.

"I'm calling the police!" Alabaster shrieks and they all look up.

"Go," Felicity says to the man in the hood. Oliver Queen. Wow, Dean thinks. It's one thing to talk about it - but to know the guy is actually billionaire by day, this by night. It's just… weird.

The man hesitates, his eyes on him and Sam.

"Go," Sam says.

"Sam-" Dean says, thinking it just can't be possible.

"It's not him."

The man gives Sam a nod, passes a glance to Felicity and the mountain and then disappears into the trees without a sound.

"Okay, what the hell?" Dean gives up.

"Look at him," Sam says. "He fell."

"Yeah…"

"Yeah and those arrows are point blank," Sam says. "It wasn't him.."

"Oh come on…"

"He's right," the mountain says and then looks back at the body. "Who is this guy?"

"Alec Shawinigan," Felicity says. "And we need to get our story straight, now."

Dean lets out an impatient breath and the mountain looks at him. "Hey man," he says defensively, eying the mountain's gun. "I agree with legs here. But we're all going back to the hotel after we get out of this and there will be questions. Starting with, who the hell are you and why do you look like Mr. T's angrier, taller cousin?"


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the encouragement everyone! Also thanks for the at times multiple (!) reviews from MaddyR, LeeMarieJack, professionalemail101, morgzorg and a guest. You're just all so damn lovely and supportive. Two parts coming up. Here's the first.

* * *

It really is a ugly room. Red carpet, red couches, too many paintings of dogs and porcelain figurines of dogs, just too many dogs. He wonders what the point of it is since nobody seems to actually own a dog. Sam leans forward desperate to move his arms. He, Dean, Felicity and Diggle somehow all got sat on one couch like caught-kids. The Police Captain looms near them, his expression stern behind his thick mustache. He's yet to say anything to them and the only sound for the past few minutes have been the tiny whimpers of Bell. She and her sister sit on a larger couch across the room, Arabella crying and Alabaster looking stern, which may in fact be her only emotion.

The Captain sighs. "Ok, who are you again?"

"Uh, I'm Felicity Smoak and this is John Diggle," Felicity begins, hands already waving. "I am Oliver Queen's Executive Assistant and that's his bodyguard. We were - well not we, I- well, myself and Oliver. We were talking to the Shawinigans and Walters, Mrs. Walters, and then we left. But somehow, between here and the hotel, I lost my red pen. And you would think a red pen doesn't mean much, but I've had this pen since - well, for awhile, and let me tell you, you can get very attached to your pen… if it's red… So we came back."

"You were here looking for a pen?"" The Captain says, his face a question mark. Not surprisingly.

In their years of living outside the law, he's become what he considers to be a champion of excuses. He would expect Team Arrow to be at the same level. Apparently not.

"Not here, here," Felicity says, "on the road."

The Captain looks at her, shaking his head, "and you two?"

"We were taking a walk, we saw their flashlights. We were talking to them when we heard the crash… and followed them. I'm Arabella's friend, from school." Sam says with a glance at Felicity. That's how you do an excuse. Simple, effective.

The Captain looks over to where Arabella and Alabaster sit. "Miss Shawinigan?"

"Hmmm?" Arabella says. "Yes, that's Sam and his brother Dean."

"And one of you can vouch for uh, Ms. Smoak's … statement?"

"Her and Oliver Queen were here earlier today," Alabaster says in monotone. Seriously, her brother just died. He expects more. "I have not heard about the pen."

"You wouldn't-" Felicity says. "We're so sorry… not for the red pen. Well, sort of for the red pen. But mostly for your brother."

"So you all heard a crash? That's it? You see anything?"

Everyone shakes their head.

The Police Captain nods, "when did you get into town?"

"Last night," Felicity says.

"Last night," Dean says immediately over her. Which looks immediately suspicious so the minute the Captain looks away, Dean raises a finger to Felicity who narrows her eyes which causes Diggle to tilt his head in warning and Sam to grab Dean's finger to lower it. When the Captain looks back, everyone resumes their position.

"And you're all staying at the hotel?"

Everyone gives a nod.

"You need to stay at the hotel until we can get formal statements from each of you," he says.

Another cop enters, "hey Cap, we need you to take a look at this…"

"Yeah," he says and he looks them over again. "Alright, you all can go… but you stay in town, you got that?"

"Will do," Dean says with a mock salute. Dean turns back to him, "let's get the hell out of creepy dog room, huh?"

* * *

Oliver stops mid-pace when the door opens. Felicity and Diggle walk-through, immediately followed by Sam and Dean. Dean whistles when he enters the room, "so this is how the other-half lives… let me guess, your minibar isn't locked."

Oliver gives an impatient look to Felicity and Diggle before he looks at Dean. "You have one minute to tell me what exactly you are doing here or…."

"You go for the arrows?" Dean says. "Scary stuff but this isn't Medieval Times…." Oliver gives him a blank look. "The restaurant? What? Right, you've been... "

"I have to say," Sam interrupts, taking a tentative step towards Oliver. "It's an honor to meet you…"

"You haven't met me. And if it should come out that you have-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, we got it," Dean looks back at Diggle. "Tough stuff and Pepper Potts here already made that clear. We got bigger problems."

Oliver keeps his eyes on Sam and Dean and his voice low. "Again, what are you doing here?"

"We, uh," Sam pulls a notebook from his backpack. "After we heard about the murders, we did some research. This isn't the first time this place had something like this. Awhile back, a group of French trappers came this way. They set up shop and everything went well, until beaver fur came in and they started trapping at the lake. A year later, a group comes this way and finds a bunch of empty cabins. No trappers. Nothing but a journal that mentions 'a dark spirit that killed like a savage.'"

"Savage meaning Native American -" Felicity says. Oliver gives her a look. "What? Oh right."

"Exactly," Sam says.

"When was this?" Diggle says. "Let's hear them out Oliver."

"1807," Sam says. "The thing is, there's not much historical record. People remember the Lost Colony or the Eskimo Village on Lake Anjikuni, but never Shawinigan. And it gets weirder. There's never been a census taken here and the town wasn't on any formal map until the 1930's when the Shawinigan family put it on the map. A bunch of years after it was incorporated, which by the way, there's no formal record of."

"Just the sign. How'd you find all this?" Felicity says to Sam. "Oh, this is… this is what you guys do, right? Investigate the paranormal? Like Mulder and Scully?"

"I'm Mulder, he's Scully," Dean says, his eyes going to Oliver.

Oliver can feel himself losing patience. He wants to punch Dean. He just really, really wants to punch Dean. "Whatever you think you're trying to pull here will not work. Get your stuff, get in your car, and go back to wherever it is you came from. And if anything about me or my friends comes out, in any way, you will not like what happens next."

"You think you can handle this, huh?" Dean says, moving toward Oliver. "Then why don't you tell us exactly what you saw? If you think this is just your run-of-the-mill serial killer, we'll leave it to you, champ."

Oliver purses his mouth and again, it replays in his mind. The figure in the dark, too far into the trees, and then the sound of the arrows. Oliver had seen things in his life, had even perhaps seen the devil himself, but each time he'd blink and whatever it was would be gone. This time it ended up with a very real dead man with three very real arrows in his chest.

"We do this for a living," Sam says. "I've read about some of the guys you've seen, some of the ones that are popping up since the reactor incident in Capital City. It's easy to call all of this unbelievable but trust me when I tell you it's not. And that we, my brother and I, are legit."

"Prove it," Oliver says.

Sam looks to Dean, unsure of how to do exactly that.

"Cas!" Dean shouts.

Everyone waits for a moment but when nothing happens, Oliver rolls his eyes.

"Cas!" Dean shouts again. "Now's not the time Cas…"

"Ok, we're done here," Oliver says. Both he and Diggle begin to move in.

Sam turns to Felicity, "you were at MIT, right? Ever heard of someone named Ash?"

Felicity looks at him, "Miles? Uh, yeah, the Comp Sci legend/only person ever to be kicked out of MIT for-"

That's it, Oliver thinks. "How did you know she went to MIT?"

Oliver grabs Dean's jacket in his hands and pushes him up against a wall. The gun in Dean's pocket falls to the ground and then Diggle's gun is pointed at Sam. Felicity yelps and scrambles to move behind Diggle. Before anyone can settle, a door opens and Castiel appears.

Everyone turns towards him. Cas steps forward, "this is not a place to act in anger."

Behind Cas everyone can see the small bathroom, white tiles, a sink, a toilet, and no window. Diggle curses under his breath, Oliver just blinks and studies Cas.

"About time," Dean says.

Cas gives him a nod and then frowns as his head tilts upwards, "No, I understand." He looks at everyone. "I have to go." He turns back to the door and then looks back at Dean and Sam. "Do not leave them."

Cas goes back into the bathroom and closes the door.

"Felicity-" Oliver says, breathlessly.

Felicity looks at him, "oh, right" and then quickly opens the door to the small bathroom. The room is empty. She goes in and then turns back, her eyes wide, "uhh… so now I'm freaking out."

"You ain't seen nothing yet…" Dean says to Felicity.

Oliver's eyes move back to Dean, anger apparent.

Dean just smiles, "I believe the words you're looking for are 'I'm sorry.'"


	7. Chapter 7

I can't remember why I wanted this to be two parts other than a small time push. -shrug- Here's part two.

* * *

Diggle, Felicity and Sam sit at a table, Sam's research spread out between the three. Dean sits on a chair, his eyes moving between the table and Oliver who continues to examine the small bathroom. Dean can't help but enjoy it. After Cas had left, he had watched the three try to make some sort of sense. At the end of it Diggle had said, "I just don't get things anymore" to which Felicity had said, "you're getting better at this though, less drooling" and they had moved on. Oliver, on the other hand, had taken to examining each and every tile in the bathroom.

"I don't know my history but it's not hard to believe a remote town was taken down by a Native American tribe," Diggle says.

"It doesn't say tribe though, the word spirit is in the singular," Sam points to the journal.

"People back then, hell, people now say the same. In Afghanistan, you'd hear some of the stories tribes told. Enemies to them are the Devil, or some form of him, no matter how large or how small they are…"

Sam gives a nod, "it's just, in our line of work, sometimes these legends prove to be exactly as you read them."

Felicity looks over at Oliver, "what exactly did you see? At creepy house."

Oliver pauses what he's doing and then looks at the room.

"Look man, I'm not saying I buy into this. Or what the hell just happened a moment ago but unless you have a better idea here…." Diggle says after Oliver doesn't respond.

Oliver waits a moment and then sighs, "Alec was on the balcony. He smoked a cigarette, put it out. Next thing I heard was the arrows. When I looked, all I could make out was one figure…"

"In a tree?" Felicity asks.

Oliver fixes her with a look, "somewhere in the trees…"

"And by somewhere, he means he doesn't know," Dean says. "Why were you there?"

Oliver looks his way, "today, at our meeting, Alec said he wanted to sell the property."

"So…?"

"So Harris Walters wanted Alabaster to sell. Wick Waters wanted to turn the woods into a lumber mill…" Oliver raises a hand. "Everyone dying seems to pose some threat to the land."

Sam studies him, "if the trappers were doing the same to the local animal population or even the lake…."

"You guys have any bad guys who do that?" Diggle looks at Sam and Dean.

Dean looks at Sam, "seen any scarecrows?"

"Beings throughout time have been known to protect the land. Morgan Le Fay, Gwydion and Math… but a lot of that is like men trying to figure out where women get their sexual power from, and since you know, sex equals procreation and the land gives everyone life, must be a woman," Felicity stops when she realizes everyone is watching her. "What? I read."

Dean can never be really sure about these things but he may actually be in love. "I-" Dean begins.

"Do not," Oliver says.

Dean groans internally - typical. Behind every good woman is an angry boyfriend with a shotgun telling you to stay away from the good woman.

"What you're talking about is ephemeral," Sam says. "This is not a poisoned harvest or some sort of natural plague. This is a single entity killing."

Felicity nods, "not to mention the fact that if it was just all about the land, they'd kill anyone who cut down a tree or put a house up. Town's here…"

Sam leans back, "so there's something else…"

"Right, so we draw the thing to us. Bell says you're here to buy the company. Our bad guy can't like that much. We go around town, make sure anyone and everyone knows, see what shakes out-" Dean says.

"In the meantime I'll go to the town's library and see what I can pull on the history-"

"Ooh, I'll come!" Felicity says.

"That'd be great," Sam smiles.

"No," Oliver says.

"You have a better plan?" Felicity says.

"I don't trust them." Pain in the ass.

"I agree with Felicity," Diggle says. "We got three dead guys, no leads, some really weird things going on. At least this is a way forward."

"Fine, but I stick with Dean. You two stay with Sam. And we meet back here before nightfall…"

"Nightfall?" Sam says.

"Everyone was killed at night," Oliver explains. "People know Felicity and Diggle are with me."

Sam lights up, actually lights up. "Oh yeah, good point. The nightfall thing is really helpful… have you had a chance to look at the arrows? Maybe you…"

"Shaft is balsam and pine. Arrowhead is shale. The fletching, misidentified as crow on the reports, is actually black turkey. The arrows were shafted and hafted, meaning whoever made them not only knew what they were doing but made sure to stick with the old ways…"

"Everything you just said is local," Sam says.

Oliver gives him a nod. Dean moves his eyes back to Oliver, now trying to get a look at him. However much of an asshole he appears on the outside, the guy knows what he's doing. "And matches our theory. What else do you know?"

"That if I'm next, I don't want to be anywhere near the water… and that your friend Arabella knows much more about what's going on here than you two do." Oliver looks at Dean, "and that this theory, and everything we're going to do next, is based on no actual evidence."

Dean smiles, he's starting to like Oliver. "Every time you don't believe, a fairy cries, Oliver. Remember that."


	8. Chapter 8

Look who has her act together and is posting twice in a week. Thanks new people and reviewers, whose comments are helpful, which hopefully you will see in this.

* * *

"So what's the deal with you anyway?" Dean says to Oliver as they walk up the street. "If I were on an island for five years, taking down bad guys would not be my thing. I'd take those billions, buy a boat and live off models and margaritas until the end of time."

Oliver doesn't even glance his way.

"No man, I get it. I mean, you hear about it, you read about it, but you think, yeah, that just doesn't exist. It's not possible. So when it does -"

"What are you talking about?"

"Felicity."

Oliver stops, looking at Dean.

"She's a tech'd out badass who looks like she belongs in a Van Halen video. With lipgloss." Dean shakes his head, "it's the costume, isn't it? That's how you got her, right? Chicks dig guys in costume. It's not fair."

Oliver closes his eyes and sighs in frustration, moving forward again. "We're not together."

Now it's Dean who stops them. He examines Oliver for a moment and then nods, "right… leather pants."

"This is your plan. A bar," Oliver says as he looks on ahead at the small building.

"If you want to get something out in a small town, you hit the bar," Dean smiles. "Trust me."

"Not a chance."

"You know partnerships are founded on trust."

"This isn't a partnership," Oliver says. As they near, a small sign becomes visible._ Progress Tavern, Established 1897._

"Words hurt."

"Not as much as some things…"

* * *

"You can actually hack a satellite?" Sam says.

Felicity frowns, "that's the problem. I need a signal to get a signal."

"We use mobile signals all the time…"

Felicity shakes her head, "weak, insecure, if it pops off mid-hack, you've just left an open door anyone can walk through. Not smart. Even if you do get in, it's not like you can get in anywhere good. And to get a satellite, we need really good."

"Cafe?"

"I got in local there but federal or… you know, bigger than federal, not so much…"

"Felicity, maybe don't tell the suspicious stranger about your hobbies…" Diggle says, studying the pair of men carrying fishing poles as they walk up the street.

Sam shrugs, "name a law, we've broken it."

Diggle tosses him a look. "I don't doubt that."

"I just, if what you're saying exists, which is saying a lot, then how do people not know? Do ghosts and whatever we're after not show up in selfies?" Felicity muses.

"And yet there's not one publishable picture on the internet of the actual identity of the Arrow-"

"We're careful," Diggle says.

"So are we," Sam says, glancing down at the map. "Up there, to the right."

They all follow Sam's direction to see a small white house on the corner, a wreath on it's door. "That's where we're going to research?" Felicity says skeptically. "This is going to take forever."

"Why don't you want people to know?" Diggle asks. "That's not saying I believe you."

"Maybe we don't want the world to know their nightmares actually exist…."

He looks up to find Diggle studying him. Sam blinks, questioning and Diggle gives him a small nod. Sam can't help the feeling of validation that runs through him at the man's silent nod to his reasoning. He suppresses the accompanying feeling of total fandom awesomeness that runs through him when he realizes he he's hanging out with the Arrow's super secret back-up team. And that he likes them. Sam switches his thoughts to his brother and wonders if he's having the same feeling. With a smile, he realizes he's probably not. Not at all.

* * *

"Drink the damn beer," Dean says.

"I want to keep my head clear."

"It's more important to not look like a stuck-up asshole. Drink the beer."

Oliver takes a tentative sip. Dean looks around, the bar is filled with eleven people, all of whom are milling about. A pool table sits empty. They'll go there next. "Look man, it may not be my flag but I am down with the rainbow. But isn't the leather-

"The best way to get around in a city is a motorcycle. It's for that," Oliver grumbles. "What's the hair gel for?"

"Looking pretty," Dean says. "It working?"

"You'll have to ask your friend Cas," Oliver says. "How long do we have to do this?"

"So none of those stories about you being some sort of partying legend are true?"

Oliver raises an eyebrow. It is true and when he considers it, he realizes sitting here won't do anything. They need to engage without engaging. Like the pool table, he looks at it and then Dean, "you play?"

"I hustle," Dean grins. "You up for this?"

"Are you?"

Dean scoffs, "banned from 47 bars in 41 states. And guess which state I haven't knocked off the list."

"Just . . . keep your focus…"

"Always do."

* * *

"Now I know why I like computers," Felicity says, sweeping a coating of dust over a book. "Less sneezing."

"Search function is also nice," Diggle says to her with a smile, thumbing through yet another book.

"What are we searching for anyway? Other than you know, mythical ghost guy who killed a bunch of trappers…"

"You know it when you see it," Sam says.

Both Diggle and Felicity give him a blank look.

"A series of unexplained deaths, a single notable unexplained death, odd family histories," Sam trails off and then looks at them both. "Or no family history…"

"Helpful," Felicity says to Diggle. Diggle smiles back at her.

"No, no, just… have you guys seen anything about anyone in the actual Shawinigan family?"

Felicity looks at Sam and then at Diggle. Diggle looks at Felicity then Sam. Each go back to their stacks, moving through the papers.

* * *

Dean just does not want to admit it. He will not admit it. He cannot admit it. It goes against everything he fundamentally believes as person. The sacred tenets of Dean. But yet, here he is, and the rich kid can hustle. And he can hustle well.

"Lucky shot," Oliver says, far too casual as he knocks back his beer. "It won't happen next round."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Billy says.

Oliver flicks his eyes to Dean for a moment before he leans back, "anything fun to do around here? I don't want to buy a company in a place unless I…"

Billy laughs and then looks at his pool partner, Joe. "It ain't happening…"

"Nobody's getting that company," Joe says.

"You haven't seen his bank account," Dean replies dryly.

"Yeah and you don't know Shawinigan," Billy says, arching himself down to shoot. "Nothing changes here." He shoots. "Ever."

"Everything changes," Oliver says, moving to the table when Billy's intended ball bounces around the edges of a pocket. "That's where I come in."

"Tell that to everyone else who wanted Shawnigan to change," Joe says with a laugh.

"What do you mean?" Dean says.

"Means what it means," Billy says.

"That a threat?" Oliver says, sinking the red 3 ball easily. "Because you wouldn't be the first town…"

"He's really good with threats," Dean says. Oliver gives him a dark look before turning back to focus on the ball. He sinks the yellow. Dean shakes his head, it's just not right. Rich kids do not play pool with ice water in their veins.

"It's not a threat," Billy says. "Hey Daria, another round. On the shark. That's a threat."

Oliver looks up, "noted. Now tell me what you meant."

Joe's chuckle breaks them all up and even Oliver stands to study at him.

"Joe," Billy says.

"Nah man, it just… it never gets old…" Joe says with a shrug. "They never know. But they always find out."

Alarm bells start to go off in Dean's head and he finds himself looking at Oliver. Oliver bends down over the pool table and makes a good shot, but the green ball bounces off an early edge and misses the pocket. Joe moves over the table and bends down, seemingly oblivious to Oliver now studying him with dark, cold eyes. Yep. He gets it, Dean thinks. This isn't good. This isn't good at all.

* * *

"This…" Felicity blinks again at all the books, "this is not good."

"No, it is not good," Sam says.

"How do you have a hundred years of history with no mention to any sort of founder . . . "

"Or population change," Felicity says.

"Or any notable event," Diggle says.

"It's like," Felicity frowns. "It's like it doesn't change."

"Or can't."

"Then why have this?" Felicity looks at Sam. "Why have an entire history if-"

"It's defensive," Diggle thumbs the book. "No town can hide anymore. People visit. People read."

"But if it's defensive, then wouldn't they pay like really close attention to whoever bothered to look this up?"

Sam looks at Felicity, "we should go."

Diggle glances at his watch, "yep, we should."


	9. Chapter 9

Lots of new people - hello! Sorry for the delay in posting. I'm going to hopefully try and stick to at least a post a week from here on out. I know where it's going and I know how it'll end (but do you? mua ha ha) so this will get to complete. Huge thanks to everyone coming in, writing comments and being just generally fantastic. You're all the apples of my eye.

* * *

"You understand anything that guy was saying?" Dean says when they finally leave the bar.

"No and they got really quiet at the end," Oliver says, studying the empty, dark street. "You notice that bar didn't have a single television in it?"

"No windows either," Dean says with a glance over his shoulder.

"And no wifi signal."

"Yep, 8 out of 10 on the 'not good' scale," Dean looks over the back of his shoulder. "You know, like an entire town being indoors at 8pm on a Wednesday."

Oliver looks around again. "Something's not right…"

"Cas!" Dean says loudly.

Oliver gives a shake of his head. There's a shadow of movement across his right peripheral vision and he turns his head, just in time for the shadow to disappear behind a group of trees behind a building. "We're not alone."

"Perfect," Dean says with a nod. "And we have no idea what exactly we're up against. Got any advice?"

"Thought you had all the answers . . ."

"Not yet, just thought you'd have some experience dodging arrows…" He trails off as he sees it, across the road, the line of a building curves and bumps awkwardly and then moves altogether. "There's more than one."

Before Dean can speak, he's shoved hard down to the ground. He moves to yell at Oliver only to find him on the ground as well, his mouth in a perfect 'o' and his gaze fixed on the mailbox in front of him. There sits an arrow, still fluttering from the impact. Dean hadn't even heard it.

"Go, now," Oliver says.

Dean scrambles, hearing Oliver behind him. He pushes himself into the darkness, his eyes fixed on the Inn ahead of them. As he nears the door without an arrow through him, certain realities begin to hit. The Arrow just saved his life from an arrow he didn't even hear, which is just not possible. When he looks back at him, the same man is now holding the Arrow, which just… how? And behind that, a much more prosaic notion, the weather.

"Inside," Oliver pushes as they reach the door.

Dean nods and gives only a passing glance back to the street, the enemies which now seem everywhere, and the unmistakable snow that's fluttering over everything.

* * *

When they enter the inn, it's quiet and the lady behind the counter is gone. "Yeah," Dean says. "No log lady. That makes sense right about now."

Oliver's gaze goes to the reception desk and his grip tightens on the arrow, noting the slight bumps in the shaft. A shaved down branch. No other explanation. "Cafe."

When he sees Felicity, Sam and Diggle at the corner booth, a breath he didn't know he had been holding slowly leaves him. The palpable sense of relief goes when he sees Diggle brush his hand over his mouth, his telltale sign of worry. "It's not good," Diggle says when he sees them.

Oliver gives a nod and looks down at Felicity. In front of her are four cell phones, his own included, all broken apart. There are also two USB ports, several other small pieces he doesn't recognize, her tablet and laptop. "Felicity?"

"I will figure this out," she says without a glance up at him.

"You got an arrow?" Sam says.

Everyone's glance goes to him, Felicity's eyes going wide, Diggle's head giving a vague shake. Before he can speak, Dean pipes up. "We met the welcoming committee…"

"Committee?" Sam says.

"More than one," Dean says.

"Oliver?" Diggle looks to him for confirmation. Oliver glances at him, then at Felicity whose eyes are fixed on the arrow, worry everywhere in her expression. Diggle takes a breath, "we need to get out of here."

"About that," Dean says with a quick laugh. "Anyone remember chains?"

"It's snowing!?" Felicity says.

Oliver knows that panic and he wants to say something reassuring, something solid. But nothing comes. Instead his mind replays what happened on the street. The arrow he's holding is rudimentary, basic. He had felt the stone arrowhead when he pulled it from the wood, and now he feels the greasy feathers against his leg. It matches the descriptions of every other arrow here. Which is fine, except for the fact that the shot out there was just not possible with it. That was a shot of force, of distance, of precision, from a distance beyond his eyesight. Something even he couldn't make even on his best day. So he's either missing something or it's . . . .

"What are you doing?" Dean asks and then on a whim, flips open his cell phone, it's black. "We don't have a cell phone signal?"

"Or wifi or uh, a land line," Sam supplies. "About a half hour after we decided to use it to look into some… historical discrepancies we found at the town hall…"

Oliver feels his glance go to the windows, which are curtain-covered and frosted. "Felicity," he says warily, not liking the vision of her head above the booth, unobstructed to the glass and beyond it.

"I will figure this out," she repeats and she drags her eyes away from the arrow.

"What does that mean?" Oliver asks.

"It means that we're dead in the water," Diggle says and when Felicity looks up at him in anger. "For now."

"I once hacked a casino with a 14.4 bit modem and Prodigy," Felicity says ruefully. "I can get us a signal."

"How is that going to help us?" Dean says.

Felicity's eyes narrow, "ask me that again when you meet our friends from ARGUS…"

Oliver nods, "until then, let's get upstairs . . . put a little distance between us and the street."

Nobody complains. Diggle grabs the phones, Felicity grabs her tablet and laptop, Sam grabs the small unknown pieces. Dean just runs a hand through his hair and turns, "stairs? Yeah. Stairs."

It's not perfect, Oliver realizes. The town knows this is where he is and Alec died two stories up but it's large and with the shutters closed, it's protected enough. He turns back. Felicity is in the corner table, her impromptu tech-lab set back up. Diggle sits across from her, playing with his phone. Sam and Dean stand by the bed, talking quietly to themselves. He studies them for a moment. "Alright, let's hear it…"

Sam and Dean give him an odd look, as if they've been caught in something. It's Diggle who speaks. "We went through the town records. At first glance, it's straightforward. Except when we tried to trace back the history of the Shawinigan family…" Diggle shifts, his eyes on Sam. "It wasn't there."

"The town hasn't changed in population since it was founded," Sam scratched his forehead. "That's not all…Alphonse had two sisters. Annabelle and Adriana. Found it online. Before them, it was Abram, Anastasia and Abigale… it's always one brother, two sisters. It's not possible, genetically."

"What happened to Annabelle and Adriana?" Oliver says, puzzling.

Sam flicks his eyes to Felicity, who is typing on her tablet with a gaze of intent. "We're trying to figure that out…"

"So what, we have a town that never changes, just keeps… repeating?" Dean says.

"Yeah, you ever hear of anything like that?" Sam says to him.

"Yeah, about an hour or so ago, two chuckleheads in the bar said the town never changes."

"We need to find Cas…" Sam says.

Oliver takes a breath, "now. Now I want to know who Cas is. Now."

Dean turns back around, his glance on Sam. Sam gives him a look.

"He's an angel," Sam says softly.

Felicity's tinkering stops abruptly. Oliver gives her a passing glance before he looks back to Sam with a dubious look. "What's an angel?"

"You know, a spiritual being that serves God," Dean says.

Oliver lets out a groan and turns away.

"You're saying God exists?" Diggle says.

"He does more than exist…" Dean replies.

"Cas said there were spirits here," Sam says. "And since we've been here, we can't contact him. He…"

"Demon hunters," Felicity says. "That's… what you are? That's actually a thing?"

"Felicity," Oliver says to her, suspicion evident.

"Breath," Diggle says. Everyone turns to him. "I saw … Cas on the road. He said it was like breath. Spirit is another term for breath," Diggle says. "The bible, get me a bible…"

After a moment, Diggle reads: "The earth was without form and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

"This is ridiculous…" Oliver says.

"Welcome to our line of work," Dean says. "Genesis, right? The place of darkness, where the Spirit of God hovered over its waters and gave the world light…."

Diggle face goes into a mixture of disbelief and amusement, "Garden of Eden. Come on."

"Okay," Oliver says. "None of this is helping us. None of this is telling us who is shooting these arrows or why people are dying or why people tried to kill Dean…"

"Hey, you were there too!"

"Unless someone's trying to protect it," Felicity says. "Think about it. If it is the Garden of Eden then you're not supposed to mess with it. Unless you're Eve and just wanted a little knowledge which don't even get me started on how she got punished for _that_."

"She's got a point," Sam says to Dean.

"Yeah, who protects the Garden of Eden…" Dean says back.

Diggle finds it quickly. "Genesis 3:24. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden."

"Great, what are mighty cherubim?" Sam says.

"My guess, two big bad bruisers who shoot from bows and arrows," Dean replies.

Oliver shakes his head and moves away. He looks down again at the arrow he's holding. The shaft is thick, heavy. It's a good arrow but undoubtedly hand-crafted and rustic. Maybe . . . Oliver shakes his head, "Arabella."

"What?" several says.

"At the house, she was weird. Her brother and sister, the ones who don't agree on anything, shut right up for her. She knows something," Oliver says. "And with the history you found . . ."

"Bell? Nah, that's just Bell . . . she's always been flighty."

"Flighty can mean evasive," Oliver counters.

"Seriously? Let me guess, shy can mean what … terrorist?" Dean adds.

"Fine, let's skip the idea of doing an actual interview to find actual evidence because of actual found evidence and base everything on a book of parables," Oliver furrows his brow. "Or you can try to convince me that the two hicks we just met in the bar were Isaac and Ishmael and that they have pool tables in the Garden of Eden."

This sobers the room and the two groups again regard each other suspiciously. Felicity looks back down at the table covered in tech equipment, "I'm going to . . . bring us back to the twenty-first century."

"Yeah," Diggle says, closing the Bible. "I'm uh . . . going to see if I can get a weather report or uh, a way out of here."

Sam immediately picks up the bible, "we need to look into this. We need…"

"Do that," Oliver says. "In your room."

"No way." Dean says, "look, I get it, you're the broody suspicious green giant. We can roll with that. What we can't do is make trapped in a horror movie mistake number one and separate. This thing, whatever it is, shot at both of us. So until we take this mother down, we stick together and worry later about whether we'll all get the 'plays well with others' merit badge at the end."

"Fine," Oliver says. "But I don't want to hear anything we can't prove or deal with. Got it?"

Dean nods, "we'll give you a bad guy that you can hit, I promise."

Felicity looks up, "so… anyone up for finding us food because I'm guessing Shawinigan isn't known for it's delivery considering the whole communication black-out slash possible mythical land from which all life was created thing?"

Dean smiles at Felicity, "hey, what kind of Adam would I be if I didn't get you an apple? I'll get food."

There's a rather distinct Oliver-sized grumble in the background.

"Speaking of, is me being Jewish going to be a thing? Because I feel like I should put that out there now," Felicity says. "Also, you really need to brush up on your old testament plot points because I think you missed a few about Adam."

Before Dean can speak, Sam chuckles, "you're fine Felicity. In our experience, its people who care much more about religion than . . . uh, anything or anyone else."

"That's nice," Felicity says. "So. . . there's a good God?"

"Can we . . . just focus on getting out of here?" Oliver interrupts.

Sam gives her a slight nod and Dean gives her a thumbs up. Felicity smiles until sees Oliver catch them all and then quickly and dutifully looks back down at her array of equipment. The amusement passes quickly though and then everyone lingers, their eyes drifting to the shut wooden blinds at each window, only to then rest on each other. With a nod from Oliver, then Diggle, then Dean, then Sam and each a passing glance at Felicity working diligently, they take a breath and move to do their part to get through the night.


	10. Chapter 10

First: HUGE apologies. I know I said I'd post regularly. Not so much though. I'm going to try and be better so I can finish this up. We have a bit to go, though.

Second: I like AO3, so I'm mirroring the story there. If you want to support it, read the edits, I'd be grateful.

/works/4877596/chapters/11182738

Third: Thanks so much if you're still with me.

* * *

Oliver was the first to wake, he looked over and found Felicity asleep, mouth open, her face pressed into the pillow next to him. On the couch in the bedroom laid Diggle, a blanket covering less than half of him. Oliver moved gently off the bed and moved out of the bedroom. He found Sam scrunched in two pulled together chairs, the Bible on his chest, and Dean lightly snored on the couch. Oliver scrubbed his face and went to the window.

In the early morning light, he saw that it snowed about four inches, enough to coat the pine trees and street in a glittery white. Enough to maybe close a road. They needed to figure that out. He turned only to be distracted by a blinking red light on the phone. Oliver went over and pressed the button.

"Message for room P-H. 'Mr. Queen, this is Alabaster Harris. Do me the pleasure of joining me for an early lunch. 11:30. See you then."

Oliver pinched his brow and said loudly, "everyone, get up."

* * *

"We're not going, right? We're getting out of here, right?" Felicity said.

"We can't leave," Sam defended. "We don't know what's out there or what this place is . . ."

"But we know there's two bad guys who shoot arrows and that unless someone can magically produce a myfi, we have no access to the outside world . . ."

"The phone's are working," Dean said.

"Nope," Diggle said, shaking the phone. "Just tried Lyla. No luck."

Felicity walked over, "that's not possible. Try the operator."

"No operator."

DIggle handed the phone over to her and Felicity sat down, pressing various buttons. Dean looked over at Oliver, "what do you think?"

"I think . . . we need to make sure we can get out of here if we need to." Sam and Dean began to protest but Oliver stopped them, "and we need to figure out what's going on."

Dean nodded, "right, same teams as yesterday?"

"I need Sam," Oliver said. "He knows Arabella. He can get her to open it while I hear what Alabaster says."

"I'm not a keep the home fires burning sort of guy -" Dean groaned.

"But if anyone can get us chains, it's you," Oliver said.

Dean shrugged, "fair point. Fine. It's me, Blondie and the big man. You and Sam get to go back to creepy house. Note of warning: if the blood gets off on the third floor, just leave."

"Uh, wait, are we just forgetting about what happened last night? Because last time you were outside, you were shot at," Felicity mumbled.

"Which is why we need to figure out any way to get out of here," Oliver said, turning to her. "Do your best."

Felicity studied him for a moment, "dodge really, really well."

Oliver's mouth ticked up. "Ok, let's go."

* * *

Felicity sat at the desk while Dean and Oliver sat on the couch and chair nearby.

"How'd you know that . . . the Bible reference?" Dean looked at Diggle.

"Way I grew up, being a soldier, you just know," Diggle watched Felicity. "What you're saying about that guy Cas? That true?"

"Takes awhile to believe, huh?"

"You're assuming I will," Diggle looked back down at the phone book. "We're not going to find a way out in here. Felicity, how's it coming?"

"Great, if you can get me, you know, a Radio Shack or about thirty seven parts that would be really helpful about now . . ."

Diggle breathed, "we can't stay here."

"If we can't find anything out there, she may be our only hope."

"I can't leave her alone," Diggle whispered.

"Because the Green Goblin will kill you?"

"Because she's Felicity."

"Look, if something was going to happen, it was going to happen last night. We go out the back, don't let anyone see we've left . . ."

"Go," Felicity interrupted. "Also you both need to work on your secret voices because I can hear every word you're saying. Which by the way, me too John."

"Felicity-"

"Not a helpless maiden. Go."

* * *

Sam and Oliver had parted at the door and since then Sam had felt uneasy. Like they're in danger. Like they should not have split. Arabella had taken him to a small room covered in floor to ceiling windows that held an unobstructed view of pine trees and the lake, darker now from the cold.

"It's going to snow more," Bell said. Since they had entered the room, she had sat on the top of a couch, feet on the cushion below and her gaze fixed on the window. "This, this was just a frost really."

"It's kind of early…"

"But you can feel it coming. Can't you feel it coming? Like electricity."

He needed her focused. He needed to move this along. "That's what you studied, at school, right?"

"It's just a fascinating thing," she said, finally turning to him. "You can feel it but you can't see it."

"Right," Sam watched as she turned back. "Why'd you leave, Bell? You loved school."

"We only have a year to choose. I chose here."

"A year to choose?"

Bell nodded but did not look at him, "it's so nice you're visiting. No one from that time ever visited."

"It's good to see you. What choice? Who made you choose?" He lingered, "God?"

"Jack came home with me. But then… then he didn't like it here. He thought . . . there were other places better, grander. Harris did too."

"Harris, who died?"

"It won't be long," she whispered. "See it? You can see it come, like it wants an audience."

"What will come?"

"The snow. I love the snow."

"Bell. Who made you choose?"

"He did, we did. I did. These are my people. This is our land. Our home."

"I don't understand."

"I know you don't. Jack didn't either. Most people don't feel it. We're lucky that way."

* * *

Felicity was so focused on creating a device which could physically patch into the hotel's internet that she doesn't hear the door from the bathroom open.

"Dean? Sam?"

Felicity jumped, "it's you!"

"Yes. Castiel. And you're Felicity Smoak," he said, as if wondering why she asked.

"You're an angel?"

"Yes. Where are Dean and Sam?"

"Out. And by the way, woah."

Cas nodded and then turned to leave. Felicity hopped up, ignoring the spray of parts. "Wait!"

Cas turned back. "I have to go."

"Are we in the Garden of Eden?"

Cas looks dumbfounded for a moment. "No."

"Then where are we!?"

"Shawinigan," Cas said and then looked at her. "You know this place. You feel it because you're supposed to. Find Sam and Dean. Touch nothing. And leave. You need to go. We all need to go."

* * *

He moved through the door, closing it behind him. Felicity scrambled after him but when she opened the door, the bathroom was empty.

From the entrance of the hotel, Dean and Diggle could see a gas station just up the street. It was a small grey building with an old red pump but it seemed like they best place so they walked up to it. As they approached, they slowed down. "Man this town gives me the creeps," Dean said.

Diggle went to speak but as they approached, an older looking man in blue coveralls came through the garage, a cloth in his hand. "Help you?"

"Uh yeah," Dean said. "We're looking for chains."

The man nodded, "don't see a car with you."

"They're back at the hotel."

The man looked around, "'spose you want to be heading home then?"

"We do."

"I'd say that was the right idea," he said, and twisted the cloth in his hands. "You bring me those cars. I'll set you straight."

Without another word, the man went back into the garage. Dean looked at Diggle. "Yeah, so that felt like a warning…"

"That was a warning," Diggle agreed. "We need to get out now."

"What about the bad guys?"

Diggle gave him a look, "don't forget. This bad guy, he has the land. We don't."

"You think we can't handle this?"

They turned to walk back. "I think that if you want to handle something, you better know what you're up against. And right now, I have no idea what the hell is happening. . ."

"So it's _Aliens_," Dean mused.

"_Aliens_?"

"You know, sequel to _Alien_. The only thing they know is to get the hell out. Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, James Cameron. Best action movie ever?"

"Tell me you guys are more than just-"

"Retreating isn't my style," Dean said. "Nor is leaving the bad guy to the next group of idiots who come here trying to stop it."

Diggle nodded, "being cornered isn't mine. Look, let's just put the chains on the cars so we have it done. Then we can argue over how big of an idiot we want to be."

They walked back and moved over to the garage. Diggle stopped immediately.

"What?"

"I just. I saw Felicity's car here yesterday. I thought they parked here."

"Maybe he or she moved it?" Dean said.

They walked further in only for Diggle to stop them. "My car should have been here. And I didn't move it."

Dean moved across and then felt his heart constrict in his chest, ". . . we just lost our drop ship."

"This isn't good."

"No," Dean turned to Diggle. "They took the Impala. This is fricking war."


End file.
